Harry Potter & the mystery of the Shrieking Shack
by MissHunter
Summary: Why is Snape so keen on Draco and Hermione working together? What did George and Fred find in the Shrieking Shack? What secret has Lupin been keeping from Sirius? Why does Luna's cryptic remarks now make sense? Luna/George. Sirius/Remus. Draco/Hermione
1. George and Fred make a bet

'The Shrieking Shack isn't haunted, mate,'

'Ten galleons says you can't spend the night there.'

George arched an eyebrow at his twin brother, who was sprawled across one of the sofas in the Gryffindor common room, shirt untucked, tie undone and wearing a general sense of untidiness. Lee was sat on high backed arm chair opposite and a few of the girls from the Quidditch team formed the rest of the circle of friends.

'What do you reckon?' George asked, winking at Katie. 'Think I could do it?' Katie give him a quick teasing smile and shook her head.

'No, I don't think so. I don't think you'll last more than five minutes.'

'I'd give him seven minutes,' Angelina joined in, laughing.

'Right, then,' George said, rubbing his hands together. 'That seals it. Fred, you're on.'

He stuck out his hand and his brother reached out and shook it.

'But….' Lee said, eager to be a part of the bet. 'How will we know he's done it? We'll have to go with him.'

The girls all squeaked and voiced their reluctance to even step foot in the house, let alone spend the night there. Fred's eyes widened but he didn't let his fear show through too clearly. He started the argument with George to impress Katie, so he wasn't going to back out now.

'Yeah, you're right. Lets just pray it isn't haunted, I guess.' Alicia raised her hand, drawing everyone's attention to her.

'Erm, guys, you can't leave the castle. How are you going to get to the Shrieking Shack?' George and Fred gave a chuckle at the same time.

'The same way we have a never ending supply of butterbeer,' George started.

'Magic,' Fred finished.

By the end of the night, the plan had been finalised. The three boys were going to break into the house at the weekend, on the Friday night. Teachers were less strict at the weekends and their disappearance wouldn't be all that obvious. It also gave them enough time to get supplies. They each needed a sleeping bag, a torch and enough food to satisfy three adolescent boys for an entire night. They already had a huge stash of chocolate that had been acquired from Honeydukes the week before. The girls had looked on in a strange mixture of disbelief and amusement but were all used to their pranks and mischief.

Friday drew closer and closer until finally it was the big day. Lessons had seemed to drag on more than they usually did; which was long enough already. Over dinner, they took massive bags into the hall to try and take as much food as possible.

'Guys, it's raining,' Fred said, stating something that all three of them were already fully aware of.

'Really, Fred, really?' George muttered, irritated.

'Nah, this is a good thing,' Lee replied. 'It means we'll have more cover when we leave the castle. It'll be harder to see us if it's dark and raining.'

'It also means that we're going to be leaked on all night. Have you not noticed the giant holes in the roof of the Shrieking Shack?' George pointed out.

'Well, yeah, but I'm sure the girls will have umbrellas,' Lee said, always the optimist.

Fred swung his legs out from under the table and stood up on the bench.

'OI KATIE!' he belted to the other end of the long table in the Great Hall, cupping his hands around his mouth. She looked up at him and groaned, wondering what sort of idiotic thing he was about to do now. 'YOU GOT AN UMBRELLA?' Katie gave him a quick nod and turned back to her food. Fred sat back down, triumphantly. 'Sorted, lads. We're still on. I think George is just trying to pussy out because he's scared. A little rain never hurt anyone.'

'Oi,' George said, kicking his brother under the table. 'You better have those ten galleons ready by tomorrow.' Fred just snorted and went back to shovelling as much food as he possibly could into his mouth or the bag by his feet.

After dinner, the boys headed quickly back up to the Gryffindor tower where their bags lay packed and waiting. Lee, the most responsible out of the three – although not an incredibly difficult feat to achieve – had written a list of everything they needed to remember. Each of them opened their bags to double check for the items on the list.

'Sleeping bag?'

'Check.'

'Blankets?'

'Check.'

'Torches?'

'Check.'

'Wait a sec, why do we need torches?' Fred asked, interrupting Lee 's list. 'We have wands, don't we?'

'I figured torches would be easier, we don't have to hold them the entire time,' Lee answered.

'Fair play,' Fred said, letting Lee continue. After shoving the bread rolls, cold pieces of chicken and whatever else they nicked from dinner, at the top of their bags the boys were ready. There had been a bit of panic during the list when George lost the socks he'd packed but he soon found them when they were dancing on the top of his head after a spell performed by Fred.

The girls had also returned by this point, and were standing near the doorway of the common room, arms crossed, disapproving looks at their face.

'Photographic evidence, remember, boys. You could just be spending the night in one of the classrooms of Hogwarts, pretending you went to the Shrieking Shack,' Angelina reminded them.

'We know what you're like,' Alicia said.

'Try not to die,' Katie added cheerfully, smiling at them. The boys all shot each other a look of pure fear but the girls just stood behind them, pushing them out the entrance.

'Have funnnn,' they trilled, waving as the boys made their way to one of the many secret passages they knew.


	2. Hermione and Draco work together

'Staring at the clock isn't going to make the time pass any quicker, Ron,' Hermione hissed under her breath as he incessantly drummed on the desk they shared in History of Magic. It was a Friday afternoon, second to last lesson. Friday afternoons were the worst. History of Magic was one of the most boring subjects ever, and it was followed by Potions, one of the most difficult subjects ever taught by the most annoying professors – Snape.

"Don't you have something to make this go a little faster?' he asked her, not bothering to keep his voice down as she had done. Professor Binns was both blind and deaf for the most part and didn't even seem to notice when students got up and left. His droning monologue on the Goblin Wars never seemed to end.

'You'd rather be in Potions than here?' Harry said, joining in the conversation, his attention diverted by what appeared to be one of the bloodiest centuries in goblin history yet was about as interesting as watching one's toenails grow. Ron sighed.

'I'd rather be anywhere than right here,' he admitted.

'Whoa! Seriously?' Harry looked shocked. 'What about the Shrieking Shack? It's haunted, you know.'

'Nah, not there,' Ron grinned ruefully. 'You'd have to be an idiot to want to spend any amount of time there, especially at night.' Hermione looked haughtily onto the conversation and shushed them.

They rolled their eyes at her and went back to counting the minutes until the lesson finished. Eventually the bell rang, which did not seem to interrupt Professor Binns. He continued writing impossibly difficult to spell goblin names on the board, long after all the students had left the room.

'Come on,' Ron said, almost running out the classroom. '"Let's go bother Snape.' Both Hermione and Harry laughed. Snape's dislike for the three of them was almost famous in their Potions class. They weaved their way through the corridors of the famous wizarding school, following the throes of students also headed down to the dungeons. Snape was already in place at the front of the class when all the students dutifully filed in and sat at a desk. Harry, Hermione and Ron took their favourite seats at the back. Snape's gaze snapped over to them almost instantly and he glided over to them, breathing heavily down their necks.

'No…' he said silkily, trailing off as he next thought how to torture them. 'You have to be in partners for this.' His finger flicked to Hermione. 'You, girl. You will have to sit somewhere else.' His eyes roamed around the classroom and he smiled, victorious. 'Go and sit next to Draco. It would appear that he does not have a partner either.'

Draco opened his mouth to form a retort but shut it quickly again. He knew better than to argue with the fearsome Potion teacher and his own head of house. Instead, he just threw Hermione a filthy looked as she strode over to his table and slammed her books upon it. She muttered something under her breath, which Draco struggled to hear. As Snape started to write the instructions for the potion up on the board, he turned to her.

'Pardon?' he asked, sarcastically.

'Stupid, annoying jerk,' she enunciated delicately, her anger showing through.

'Who, me or him?' Draco motioned at Snape. Hermione's eyes quickly flickered over to the man at the front of the classroom but she kept her gaze forward, refusing to look at her partner for the lesson.

'Guess,' she answered. Draco shrugged, his own gaze returning to the front.

'I don't like this any more than you, Granger,' he said, mustering as much dislike and contempt in his voice as he possibly could. He was also wondering what he had done for Snape to punish him like this. Hermione grunted, in a very unladylike manner and started scribbling the instructions down furiously.

The lesson went by awkwardly. The only words that were exchanged were for ingredients or simple instructions barked by Hermione. Draco still didn't like the girl but marvelled at the efficient way at which she worked. They were the first team to finish and Snape rewarded them both with ten points each for their house; unusually generous for Snape. Even after they packed up the cauldrons and all their equipment, there was still twenty minutes to go until they were allowed to leave. Hermione glanced over at Ron and Harry, who seemed to be chucking Ashwinder eggs at each other and giggling as they exploded with a black tar like substance. She sighed and rested her head on the table. It wasn't fair they were having so much fun and she had to sit with Draco, a boy that bullied her for years.

'So…' she said, determined to make an effort and not sit in boredom for the remainder of the class. 'What happened to your usual partner?'

Draco was shocked that she was being civil, considering the way they had treated each other all lesson. His reply slipped out.

'None of your business, mudblood,' he replied, the insult curling naturally around his tongue. The colour rose in her cheeks and she quickly turned to him.

'Forget I even asked,' Hermione muttered, not letting his bullying get to her, and rested her head back down, not saying another word to him until the bell rang at the end of the lesson and she scraped her chair backwards. As she went back to join Harry and Ron, she turned her head back to him.

'You really are an arsehole, Draco, no wonder you don't have a partner.' Her words cut him deeper than he cared to admit. They were similar to what Patsy had said when she had dumped him a mere two days before. His mind drifted back to Wednesday evening in the Slytherin common room.

_He had ignored Patsy all dinner, his mind on more pressing matters, and had pushed her away when she tried to sit on his lap on the sofa. She stood up and glared at him, tapping her foot impatiently._

'_What's up with you?' she asked him. 'You've been off with me all day.' _

'_Nothing,' he said. 'Just leave it.' He did not want a scene, his father had made it quite clear about the impression the Malfoys had to make. Patsy, however, was not going to take the hint. _

'_What the hell, Draco? What am I meant to think? You don't even want to touch me.' _

'_Patsy,' he said, sternly. 'Not right now.' _

'_You can such an arsehole sometimes, Draco, and I'm fed up of it. Our relationship is over.' And with that, she flounced off leaving him to the stares of everyone else in the room. He stood up and gave a nonchalant shrug._

'_Whatever.' Goyle laughed and Crabbe clapped him on the back._

'_You could do better than her, anyway,' one of them said. _

'_Yeah, yeah….' _

'Oi, Malfoy, you coming?' Goyle's brash voice soon jolted him back from his memories. Draco stood up and grabbed his bag.

'Yeah, let's go.'


	3. Lupin and Sirius have a chat

'You got a lighter?' A familiar voice broke into Lupin's train of thought.

'Yeah, yeah,' he fumbled around in his cloak pockets and finally touched the cold, hard metal of the zippo he had got for his 16th birthday. Moony had been engraved into the back of it, as a reminder of both his nickname, his curse and his best friends. He passed it to Sirius, who was stood next to him in the grounds of Hogwarts. Their fingers briefly brushed as he passed it over to the good looking man he'd known since his first years at Hogwarts. He felt a spark go through him and glanced at Sirius, wondering if he'd felt the same thing. Sirius just looked unaffected, and cupped his hands around the cigarette and lighter to shelter them both from the rain. He passed the lighter back and took a long drag of the cigarette, the smoke drifting lazily past his vivid blue eyes.

'So…' he said.

'So, what?' Lupin replied.

'Well, aren't you going to ask what I'm doing here?'

'Nah,' Lupin replied, flicking his wand upwards, casting a spell to prevent the rain from falling on them. It looked as though there was an invisible bubble surrounding the two old friends. 'No doubt you're going to tell me anyway.'

Sirius grinned in that cheeky way he always did, a small dimple showing in his left cheek. Lupin felt his heart give a little jump, as it always did when he saw the dimple.

'I've got an interview for a job here,' he said, punching Lupin lightly on the arm. 'Howzat?'

Lupin's eyes widened.

'What?' he asked, incredulous. 'I didn't realise there was a post of troublemaker and layabout at Hogwarts.'

'Oi!' Sirius said, mock outraged. 'Quidditch coach. So I guess that is the post of troublemaker and layabout at Hogwarts. Madame Hooch is retiring and Dumbledore wrote to me, asking me if I'd consider it. What do you reckon?'

Lupin groaned.

'I thought I was rid of you by now,' he answered. Sirius laughed, long and hard.

'Oh, not yet, old boy, not yet.' He flicked his cigarette onto the ground and stubbed it out.

'Sirius, that's a really bad habit. How are you meant to teach a sport when you smoke?'

'I'm trying to cut down,' Sirius said, glancing wistfully at the packet. 'It's not that easy. Plus, I smoked when I played Quidditch for Gryffindor. 3 out of the 7 years, I smoked. It'll be fine.'

'Sirius, you're going to be a teacher here. You have to be a good influence on these children,' Lupin reminded his friend.

'Hopefully be a teacher here. I haven't got the job, yet,' he said.

'Well, you won't if you continue with those,' Lupin said, tapping the pack Sirius held. 'Give 'em here.'

'No.'

'Sirius…' Lupin said in a warning tone.

'You'll have to catch me first,' he said, tucking them into the front pocket of his trousers and running off. Lupin let out a small noise of exasperation. Sirius still acted like a young child. Well, by all accounts, he hadn't had much of a childhood so perhaps he was living it out now. Lupin could indulge him. He muttered a few extra words for a warmth spell, took out his cloak and chased after Sirius who was running across the grounds of Hogwarts towards to the Great Lake. Luckily, all of the students were in dinner at the moment so no one was around to witness his foolhardiness as he ran after his friend.

It did not take long to catch up to Sirius, who had paused for a break and was resting his bodyweight on a tree. He was breathing deeply and seemed quite unfit. Lupin took this moment to tackle him to the ground. He sat on top of Sirius's torso, his hands pinning Sirius's arms down.

'This is why you have to give up smoking,' Lupin said. 'You can't even run five minutes without needing to stop.'

Sirius tried to push the guy off, but without much success. He was stuck under his friend who was glaring at him.

'Alright, alright,' he said. 'I'll give up.' Lupin smiled, knowing that he'd won.

'There's spells to help you quit,' he advised. 'It'll be easy. Now…' He trailed off, his hands reaching down towards Sirius's crotch. Sirius lay back, having given up the fight, and let his friend stick his hand into his front pocket to retrieve the cigarette packet. It felt almost natural for Lupin's hand to be there and he gave a small sigh of regret when Lupin got off him, stood up and threw the packet into the Great Lake.

'There, that's the first step,' Lupin said, standing over him, offering him a hand and pulling him up. 'When's your interview?'

'Erm, half seven, I think. Once Dumbledore has finished dinner, I'm to go up to his office. What time is it now?'

'Twenty five past seven, Sirius. I suggest you run.' Lupin gave a small, ironic smile as one of the men that he knew best and knew him best legged it towards to the castle.


	4. George, Fred and Lee sneak out

"Dissendium," George hissed, pointing his wand at the statue. The three of them, he, Fred and Lee, had managed to sneak through the corridors of Hogwarts unnoticed and unharmed to the stairs near the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. They did have a most obliging ally though, that had helped avoid teachers and prefects along the way and seemed to delight in the mischief they got themselves into and sometimes, thoroughly encouraged it. Peeves was one of the most useful friends the trio had when it came to roaming around Hogwarts. The fact he could walk through walls was extremely helpful and he often provided distractions when needed. None of the boys were quite sure where his extensive stash of water balloons and flour came from, but they did not care all that much.

They all surged forward as the passageway opened, trying to get out of sight as soon as possible. It resulted in several hard shoves and Fred falling flat on his face, causing the other two to trip over him.

'Oomph!' he exclaimed as George and Lee walked into his floor stricken body. 'Oi!'

'It's your own bloody fault,' George said, giving him another kick, as Lee muttered Lumos to provide light for the three of them.

'Give us a hand up, then,' Fred demanded, not bothering to move. George rolled his eyes but grabbed his twin's arm, pulled him up and brushed the dirt off him.

'Sorted,' he said, proud of his handiwork. 'Now, come on Fred, no use trying to back out now.'

'Oi!' Fred repeated. 'I want my ten Galleons when you start crying and whining about how you want to go back.'

'Five,' Lee echoed from behind him. 'Five of it goes to me. I'm not doing this for me health.'

'Fine, five' Fred huffed, poking his brother in the back with his wand. 'Let's go moving, we're not getting any younger.'

The three of them shuffled alone the passageway, joking and jostling as they did, Lee regaling the tale of the time they had thought it would be funny to flood the girls' bathrooms. It had been funny, up until the point that the girls were given the boys' bathrooms and the boys were given chamber pots.

Eventually they came to the dim outline of the light filtering through the gap of the Honeydukes' cellar door. Fred linked his fingers together which created a hold for George's foot, so he could reach the doors, push them open, wriggle through and hoist the other two up. They had done this so often, they could do it in thirty seconds. Thirty one seconds later and they were all lay breathless on the floor of the cellar, amongst chocolate frogs, exploding bon-bons and pixie puffs.

'Lads, we're getting worse at this,' Lee said, glancing at his watch. George gave him a sly nudge with his elbow, causing him to yelp, and Fred put his finger to his lips, shushing them all. They made their way slowly to their feet, careful not to knock anything over. They had already disarmed the inadequate alarm system that the owners of Honeydukes had put in place. To be fair to them, the owners probably hadn't expected anyone to come through the floor. They edged bit by bit through the sweetshop until they reached the door.

' Alohomora,' Fred whispered, pointing his wand at the lock.

'I wanted to do it this time,' George bickered quietly, as they exited through the door, opening it gently so it didn't squeak. Moonlight gently illuminated their illicit actions from the full moon that lay above Hogwarts' shadowed towers.

'You can relock it, then,' Fred said patiently, stepping out of the way so his brother could use the spell.

'Shan't,' George said pettily, pouting as a joke. Lee muttered the simple word as the two boys argued in hushed tones and pushed them in the direction of the Shrieking Shack as the words of 'Shall' and 'Shan't' were thrown between the two of them.

It wasn't until Lee gave a cough that the two of them looked up from each other and realised that they were no longer standing in front of the warm oak door of Honeydukes but instead outside, in the rain, looking at a house that appeared to have no door and a smell of fear and sadness. Each of them gave an involuntary shiver. George shrugged it off, though, and clapped his hands.

'Ready, boys?' he asked. The rain seemed even harder than before and the darkness seemed even blacker.

Fred gave a firm nod.

'Ready.'

Lee gave a small pause.

'R..ready.'

'Right, then,' George said, a great deal more confident and happier than he felt. 'Find a stone and aim for the windows.'

'First one to hit one gets ten points for Gryffindor,' Fred joked. They all laughed forcefully, trying to find the fun in the situation that they had felt back in the common room. They rooted around on the ground, amongst the twigs and dirt, trying to find large enough stones. Lee found the first one, but his shot fell woefully short. Both George and Fred found one and aimed at the same time, their stones sailing towards one of the top windows. Both of them hit their mark, the same window, top left. Even from where they were standing, they could hear the glass break.

'Think we have a bit of climbing to do,' Lee said.

'Shan't,' George refused, trying to keep the mood light and not think about the danger they were entering themselves in for. And all to impress the girls.

'Shall,' Fred said, taking the first step towards the house. They all ducked under the small fence that provided a scarce barrier for the house. They scrambled up the small incline that led to the house and stood outside the window that would provide them entry. The Weasley twins had chosen the window deliberately, as a large tree grew right next to it. They paused, glancing up on what was meant to be the most haunted house in Britain. It was easy to see why people believed the rumours. Plants grew up the walls of the house and had become as much of it as the brickwork. The windows had thick planks of wood on the inside, to prevent seeing what was inside. Perhaps it was wise they were blind as to the interior of the place.

'Apparently, someone was murdered there and you can still hear the screams at night,' Lee whispered, as though he did not want to wake the house, or whatever lay inside.

'Rubbish,' George said brusquely.

'Utter nonsense,' Fred said swiftly, supporting his brother. They glanced up on the house.

'Although, if you want to back out….' George said.

'NO WAY!' Fred and Lee hollered simultaneously. 'But if you want to…..' They all gave each other a look, and took one step back from the house.

'AHH-WOOOO.' A howl came from somewhere behind them, and they all ran towards the tree.

Quickly swinging one leg up onto a branch, George made the first move to climb the tree. The two quickly followed, fighting to be second as they did not want to be the only one left of the ground in front of the Shrieking Shack. They made quick work of the tree, having had a lot of practise at climbing them, and made it, one by one, along the branch to the window. George sat on the ledge, feet dangling, waiting for the other two, and they pushed him through the broken glass and planks of wood into the Shrieking Shack.

'WHAT THE HELL?' George bellowed, his voice echoing around the dark room. 'I THINK I'VE GOT SPLINTERS IN MY BUM AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT.'

'George…..' Fred whispered, his eyes flickering around the room as though he expected something to attack the three of them, who were sprawled in the middle of the room surrounded by debris. George suddenly clamped his mouth shut and they sat, unmoving and silent, as the house creaked around them. They all reached out to clutch each other and sat in a tight circle, considering their options. Shrieking Shack, whatever made the howl, Shrieking Shack, whatever made the howl?

The house stopped moaning and the silence closed in around them. It took a few minutes for anyone to do anything.

'Achoo!' Small dust clouds billowed around them as Fred sneezed. George, in typical George fashion, raised his fist to punch his brother for being an idiot but remembered where they were and lowered it again. However, nothing seemed to jump out at them. Nothing seemed to scream or howl. There was nothing except their heavy breathing. George took a grateful sigh and resumed to hurting his brother.

'Ow!'

'Guys!' Lee, in typical Lee fashion, kept the peace. 'Hey, look at this.' The Weasley twins abruptly stopped fighting and rolling around the floor and looked up at Lee, who had switched on a torch and was pointing it at the wall, revealing a name they knew well.

THE MARAUDERS

In 6 foot, red and letter yellows was the name of their mapmakers emblazoned on the wall of the Shrieking Shack.

'Wh…..' For once in their life, they were all lost for words, staring at the graffiti. Lee lowered the torch down slightly. There was more.

Padfoot, Moony, Prongs and Wormtail.

A sudden warmth swept over them all. The Shrieking Shack no longer seemed scary, empty and sad, but an achievement. They had managed mischief, just like their predecessors before them. Lee rooted around in his bag and brought out three spray cans. Fred and George gave him an incredulous look and he shrugged it away.

'Hey, you never know what you might need,' he explained. They accepted this and each took one.

'We can't use our own names,' Fred said.

'Why not?' George asked. 'No one is ever going to know we've been here anyway. We won't get in trouble for it.'

'Well, they didn't,' Fred answered. 'So I don't feel we should.'

Half an hour later, and the boys stood back from their handiwork. 29 of those minutes had been discussing what name they were to write and now, in sparkling gold paint stood their decision.

'Rapier, Rock, River.'

'Why Rock, incidentally, George?'

'Why River?'

'Jordan River, of course.'

'Well, I rock, okay. That's why.' The other two grunted, accepting this explanation. Proud of their contribution to rascals everywhere, they set about making beds and eating.

Having snuggled into their sleeping bags, glad to be away from the rain and next to their heroes, Fred, George and Lee went about destroying the food they had bought with them. The Shrieking Shack no longer seemed so scary now that they had set up candles everywhere. Granted, they had shifted a large desk in front of the door so nobody would be able to get in, but the room just seemed like a normal bedroom, just dustier. There was a bed without a mattress, an empty wardrobe, a desk and a couple of chairs. No personal effects, but they had just assumed that whoever had last lived there had just taken all their things with them rather than an unfortunate event.

'Do you know what I've just realised?' Lee mumbled, talking with his mouth full of apple. 'The Marauders must have been in Gryffindor.'

'Why?' Fred asked, his mouth equally stuffed with a couple of chocolate frogs he'd smuggled out of Honeydukes earlier.

'Well, look at the colours. Red and yellow. Gryffindor colours. And we know the Marauders were Hogwarts students. Two plus two equals four.'

'I would clap you on the back,' George called over. 'But I can't be bothered to move. Have a liquorice wand instead.' And with that, lobbed one at Lee's head who deftly caught it, used to the Twins' tricks.

After having a satisfying feast of smuggled goods, the boys settled down to sleep, comfortable in the room they considered safe. Lee had brought an alarm clock so they were back early enough to arouse suspicion and hand enough time to take photos of themselves as proof.

They bid each other good night and drifted quickly into deep sleep.

Early the night morning, after a healthy breakfast of chocolate and chicken, the boys posed by their graffiti and in various places around the room and then outside the Shack, hoping it would be sufficient proof for the girls. All of them were far too distracted with excitement to notice scratches in the door of the room that had not been there the night before and the fact the desk had been moved ever so slightly out of place.

'There!' George said triumphantly, throwing the photos onto the table in front of the girls at breakfast. His smug grin could not be broken over the dishes of bacon, sausages, eggs, toast and baked beans that he, Fred and Lee heaped onto their plates. The girls watched as Fred and Lee handed over five galleons apiece to George, knowing the boys too well to think that they would spend ten galleons on a prank. The photos sealed in, there was even a photo of George half hanging out of the window of the Shrieking Shack with his thumbs up, giving that cheeky smile he was famous for.

'Well….' Katie drawled slowly, stroking the inside of George's arm. 'I am impressed.'

Angelina shuffled that little bit closer to Fred and rested her head on his shoulder.

'I didn't realise you were so brave,' she said breathily into his ear. Alicia, noticing Katie's wink, and realising what the girls were up to, leaned across the table to Lee and smoothed one of his dreads down.

'I just don't know how you did it,' she whispered softly, trailing a finger down his cheek. All the boys' eyes widened in shock.

'R..really?' choked George, his voice tinged with that little bit of disbelief. He had been flirting with Katie for months in vain. Katie picked up the photos and stood up, the other girls following her lead. She handed one to each of them.

'No,' she said, throwing the photo on the floor.

'Not really,' Angelina added, throwing hers too.

'All these photos prove is that you three are idiots,' Alicia finished, letting the photo fall from her grasp, and walking off but not before turning back, whipping her hair around and adding one final insult to injury. 'But we knew that already.'

The boys all clutched their hearts, feigning death and falling to the floor at the girls' cruel barbs. This gained them laughs from both ends of the Gryffindor table, and some chuckles from the Ravenclaw one too. Their antics proved disruptive and gained the attention of several of the professors. Only one, however, took the time out to come and inspect what was happening, his black cloak like a bat's wings sweeping along the floor.

"Will somebody please tell me what is going on?" Snape demanded of the three boys, who had sat back up. Fred had had the sense to pick up the photos, proof of their rule breaking as well as their idiocy. They all glanced up at the Professor, trying to muster gazes as innocent as they could manage. Snape just raised a single eyebrow, waiting for a response.

'Professor!' George said, trying to draw his attention away from Fred, who was desperately trying to hide the photos behind his back. 'What a lovely surprise.'

But Snape, for all the faults his students may believe he has, was not stupid.

'What have you got there, boy?' he asked, turning on his heel to face Fred. He stuck on his hand. 'Hand them over.' Realising the game was up, Fred offered over the first photo, just of him, not wanting to further incriminate the others. Rather than the reaction he was sure Snape would first have, that of extreme anger for the multitude of rules they broke, Snape turned a ghostly white and starting to shake ever so slightly. He quickly regained control of himself and bent a finger at Fred, pointing him out of the Great Hall. Fred knew better than to argue with Snape, and followed him dutifully out, head lowered, not even wanting to consider the punishment that went with breaking out of school and into the Shrieking Shack.

Snape, once gotten Fred into a deserted corner, quickly faced him and started talking in rapid, quiet tones.

'I know where this is, so do not even try and deceive me. I do not know when you went there, or why, or how, and I do not want to know. You must just promise me that you will never ever return.'

Fred, shocked at the fact he was not being expelled, just nodded mutely.

'And I shall be taking this photo and destroying it. You must also never talk about that place. This conversation never happened.'

Snape searched Fred's face carefully.

'And would you tell Lee and George the same, please?'

Fred's mouth dropped. How could he possibly know that? He hadn't said anything at all about the other two. But Snape strode off, without any explanation, in the same manner he'd strode towards them in the Great Hall.

Upon entering the Great Hall, only George and Lee were sat silent, waiting to hear their friend's fate. Everybody else had just assumed that Fred had got a few detentions for larking around, the way he did most meal times. He sat, silently down, in between George and Lee, taking Katie's empty seats. His lip trembled and he moved as if he was wiping away a tear.

'Boys…' he said, voice trembling. 'I've been…. I'v….' He broke away, unable to finish. George and Lee shook him, desperate to found out what happened.

'I've been let off the hook,' he said, bursting into laughter. The other two did not find it as funny.


	5. Hermione and Draco work together again

'But Professor, I really must protest!'

It would appear that Draco was not the only one to arrive to Potions early. A shrill voice echoed around the dungeon that was Snape's domain as he entered. He glanced up at the front of the classroom, having hidden his face away from the rush of students in the corridors when walking here.

Granger, arms on hips, face a picture of fury was stood addressing Professor Snape. He just stood, looking at her, as though she was a mild annoyance like a toad that would not stop croaking. He waved her demands away.

'No, Miss Granger, you shall sit there for the rest of the term. Now, unless you want a further five points taken on Gryffindor…' he trailed off, allowing the rest of the threat to go unspoken. Draco gave a small cough, alerting them of his presence.

'Ah, Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger and I were just having a discussion about you,' Snape told him. 'She seems to think that the two of you won't work well together. Judging by last week, I am inclined to disagree and I'm sure you are, too.'

Draco gave a nod; feeling trapped into it, and glanced over at his Potions partner. She had a face like thunder and Draco was surprised Snape did not have daggers poking out of his back; the way she was staring at him with such anger.

'Fine…. Professor,' Hermione said sarcasm that would have made his father proud. She pushed past Malfoy, not even acknowledging his existence and slung her bag on the floor. She sat, as near to the edge of the table as she could, making a clear indication of which side was hers and which side was his by setting up her equipment right down the middle. Snape rolled his eyes at her behaviour but issued her one final warning.

'And Miss Granger, if you fail to work with your partner, I shall fail you for the year.' She stood up quickly, stool falling onto the floor and opened her mouth to argue. However, seeing the look in Snape's eyes, she bit her lip, picked the stool back up and sat back down; hands lay chastely in her lap. Snape gave a satisfied nod and, with a sweep of his cape, turned back round to writing instructions on the board. Draco, having watched the small episode, was distracted from his observer role as everyone else clattered into the classroom, pushing, shoving and chatting. Ron and Harry quickly joined Hermione's side.

'Oh, not again,' Harry moaned.

'Sorry, 'mione,' Ron said, sympathetically. 'Snape's a right old bastard, away.'

'He threatened to fail me….' she said in a small voice. Harry reached his arm around Hermione's shoulder and Ron did the same. They gave her a quick, comforting hug but returned to their normal desk, unable to be of any help. Draco felt a quick pang of jealousy at their friendship, his friends would never offer him any reassurance or warm words, but quickly shook it away. Jealous of Potty, the Weasel and Granger? No chance.

As the class settled down, Hermione finally looked at Draco for the first time since he'd be in the classroom. She quickly noticed his puffy, red eyes and added this to the fact he had come alone and early to class. He was never alone, always surrounded by a group of bullying minions and a fawning Patsy Parkinson. Through gritted teeth and a forced effort to be civil in order to save her grade, she opened her mouth to speak to him once Snape has finished telling them what to do.

'So, where were you this morning?' she asked, as kindly as she could to the boy who had taunted her since she had first started Hogwarts. Her words came out slightly sharp. Draco's head whipped up at her question and he tilted his head, looking at her curiously. He didn't realise anyone would notice that he hadn't been to any lessons the entire day. Then again, she was a brain box, she must have the memory the size of a Quidditch pitch.

'… business,' he mumbled.

'Pardon?' Hermione asked, whilst ruthlessly chopping up hellebore.

'None of your business,' he repeated quickly. She looked startled for a minute, almost hurt, and Draco felt a spasm of guilt. This was the most unusual lesson, first jealousy, now guilt. However, he had had the most unusual day and there was little wonder he was emotionally fragile. The silence grew between them, as they poured ingredients into the cauldron, until Draco tried to spark the conversation again.

'Sorry about Snape, though. The whole failing thing. That was too harsh. Even to a Gryffindor,' he offered.

'Shut up, Malfoy. I don't need your sympathy,' Hermione quickly retorted, as she scanned through the next line of the potion. Again the silence loomed until Hermione stirred the potion, and it gave a small hiccup and turned purple.

'Granger, is it mean to look like that?'

'No, Draco, it is not meant to look like that. It is meant to be a vibrant turquoise blue.'

'Well, we're not far off,' he said hopefully. 'We've probably just forgotten the one ingredient.'

'Yeah….' she said, doubt thickening her voice.

'Well, if I list the ingredients and you say yes to the ones we've put in, we'll be able to know which one we've missed,' he suggested brightly. 'Plus you're more likely to remember the ingredient we've used than I am,'

Hermione was shocked at his co-operation but she was not aware that Draco was just as hell-bent on getting the best possible marks he could in all his subjects too, but for entirely different reasons. He did not go without pudding for a week if he did not do exceptionally well in a test, or have pocket money taken off him. No, instead he was used as curse practise for the Death Eaters. His father allowed it, in fact, proposed it, to toughen his only son up. Draco, however, felt his moral resolve and self belief weakening every time that it happened; the opposite effect of what Lucius was hoping to achieve. But Hermione was not aware of any of that. Instead, she was aware that her arch enemy of five years was trying to be helpful.

'Draco, what are you up to?' He looked up at her, deep blue eyes gazing straight into hers. She had never noticed them before, they reminded her of the sea in Scotland where she used to visit as a child. Memories quickly filtered through her brain, of dropping an ice cream, of searching for mermaids, of paddling in the shallows of the ocean and getting goose bumps everywhere. These were her muggle memories, long before she'd even heard of Hogwarts. The spell was quickly broken as he spoke.

'I want to pass as much as you, Hermione. Don't worry, I haven't become unselfish or anything.' His voice was tinged with the same sadness that she had seen in his eyes. It was hidden, barely recognisable, but it was there. He looked back away at the list of ingredients and she was drawn back into the real word, the noise and movement of the dungeon.

'That right there, that was messed up,' she whispered to herself as Malfoy started to recite the ingredients.

'Powdered porcupine quills,'

'Nope.'

' Valerian root.'

'Nope.'

'Powdered moonstone.'

'Nope,'

'Uni..'

'Wait,' Hermione interrupted him. 'Say that last one again.'

'Powdered moonstone,' Malfoy repeated. Hermione snapped her fingers, triumphantly.

'That's the one. We never put powdered moonstone in,' a victorious smile passed between the two of them as Malfoy used a mortar and pestle to grind the moonstone and emptied the powdered substance into the cauldron. Steam rose up and when it had cleared, the liquid was a vivid turquoise colour.

'Yes!' Hermione cheered and went to hi five her partner, before realising who it was and lowering her hand. Malfoy's smile quickly disappeared as Snape came over to check their potion.

'This doesn't mean we're friends, Granger,' he hissed out of Snape's earshot. Before Hermione could snap back a retort, Snape emerged over them, checking their work.

'Good,' he said. 'I hope you shall not protest anymore, Miss Granger, you work well together.'

It took all Hermione's energy not to slap the both of them and luckily the end of lesson came quickly. She quickly rushed over to Ron and Harry, not saying another word to that arrogant blonde boy who seemed to want to hurt her with every single thing that he said.

'I hate him, I hate him, I hate him,' she screamed frustrated, once they had left the classroom, taking her anger out on Ron's arm, punching it repeatedly.

'Yeah, me too,' Harry said.

'And me,' Ron said, rubbing his arm pointedly.

'Sorry, Ron,' Hermione apologised. 'But you guys don't get understand, it's even worse than that.' Understand what? The fact she was starting to pity him, even sympathise with him. That she longed to find out the sadness behind his eyes, despite the fact she detested his very being. What was wrong with her? She was meant to be intelligent.

'I think we do get understand, Hermione,' Harry said placidly.

'Yeah, the guy's an arse,' Ron added. 'We've known for years, don't tell me you've just realised.'

Hermione giggled and shook her head, linking arms with her two very best friends.

'I know, I know.'

'Listen, right,' Ron said, as they made their way to dinner, Potions being the last class of the day. 'If you want revenge. then I know just the people you need to speak to.'

Hermione shook her head again, a little more vehemently this time.

'No! No, I am not asking the Weasley Twins for help. I'll never live it down,' she said.

"Fine, but so you know, they're better at this than you are," Ron advised as they walked into the Great Hall. Harry agreed and both boys sighed fondly at the many pranks that Fred and George had managed, recounting them as they sat down and ate dinner. Hermione had not heard quite a few of the stories and her mouth hung open in shock, disbelief and disapproval. However, Ron did have a point. The twins did seem quite imaginative in ways she could not even comprehend. Plus, she did not think there would be any books in the library on pranks so that was no help.

'Fine, fine!' she threw her hands up, defeated, and Harry and Ron gave each other a high five, excited for the night's entertainment.

By nine o'clock that evening, the plan had been set in action. Fred and George, already on speaking terms with every single house elf in Hogwarts, had managed to get their hands on a whole batch of superglue. They also had a healthy stash of laxatives, a key ingredient for many of their products. Hermione was not to know any of this, though. She refused to know any detail, except that it would cause Draco Malfoy a whole lot of embarrassment. With the Marauders' Map and Harry's invisibility cloak, their plan was fool proof.

They were to sneak into the Slytherin dorms and put superglue on every single one of the toilet seats. Sure, a lot of people would suffer, but they were Slytherins so it didn't matter.

Earlier at dinner, Fred had managed to add laxatives to the food being taken to the Slytherin table and had managed to manipulate it so that most of the tainted food went to Draco and his friends.

Half nine, and the Weasley twins were returning Harry's cloak to him with a huge grin on their face.

'Simple,' Fred said.

'Easy bloody peasy,' George added.

'Cheers, guys,' Harry thanked them. Hermione emerged, sleepy eyed, from the girls' dorms aware of the whoops coming from the boys. She stood, quietly in the doorway, watching their jubilations.

Hopefully this would teach Draco Malfoy and his bullying minions a lesson.


	6. Remus and Sirius celebrate Sirius's job

"Guysss, guuuys," Lupin said, slurring his words. He tapped feebly on his beer glass, hoping to draw people's attention. Only Sirius noticed his movement and hopped up onto the chair he was sitting on in the middle of The Three Broomsticks.

"OI!" he bellowed down the table, not only getting the attention of the large group of drunken teachers but of the entire pub who turned and stared at the man sporting a crooked, shocking red pointed hat that seemed to explode glitter out the peak routinely, who was trying not to fall off the chair. 'Lupin wan' ta speak.'

'Thank you,' Lupin said grandly, stumbling up to his feet and sweeping his hat off his head, bowing to Sirius. 'I have an announcement to make!'

The rest of the pub groaned and turned back to their conversations or exploding chess, used to the drunken antics of the Professors of Hogwarts who liked to blow off steam once in a while.

'Sirius,' Lupin continued, 'is one of my best friends ever.' Sirius drew a mock tear away.

'Hear, hear!' Flitwick called from the back, causing everyone to toast to Sirius and take exceedingly large gulps of their drink.

'Nonono,' Lupin banged on the table, drawing attention back to him. 'I haven't finished yet.'

'Hurry up!' McGonagall called, giggling as she did. Lupin sighed and waved a hand at her to be quiet.

'Sirius is one of my best friends ever,' he repeated. Sirius lent over and in a stage whisper informed Lupin that he'd already said that. The table burst into peals of laughter and Lupin looked slightly lost for a moment before realising he'd written a speech before they'd started on the firewhiskey, and dug into the pocket of his suit to retrieve it. He quickly scanned through it as the table waited impatiently for him to finish. He promptly ripped it in half, struggling ever so slightly in his inebriated state, and let the pieces tumble to the floor.

'Well, all I'd like to say is…' the teachers all lent in, all eager for him to finish so that they could go for the next round of drinks. 'Well done, Sirius, for getting the job!'

Loud applause and wolf whistles exploded from the table, with Flitwick shouting 'Hear, hear,' yet again causing another lot of gulps. Glasses banged noisily at the table as everyone finished the remains of their drink.. Sirius grabbed the table to assist him in getting up, and once stood firmly, feet on the ground, swaying slightly from side to side, raised his arm.

'Next round's on me!' This statement received even more applause than Lupin's congratulatory speech and it followed him as he weaved his way to the bar, closely followed by Lupin.

'You can't possibly pay,' Lupin said, stumbling over his words slightly. 'It's your party.' Sirius simply ignored him and placed a large wad of cash on the bar counter.

'Same again, please, Rosmerta,' he ordered, wiggling his eyebrows at the attractive bar lady. As Rosmerta went about making the multitude of drinks, Sirius felt a warm clap on his back. He turned around and faced the very man who had given him the job.

'Regrettably, Sirius, I must leave,' Dumbledore's deep voice rumbled. 'But I am sure I leave you in very capable hands.' Rosmerta looked up and smiled at the Headteacher's well placed compliment. 'It is far too late for an old man like me, and I do not think I can keep up with you young ones, but enjoy yourself.'

Sirius gave the man a vigorous handshake, grateful for the opportunity that the man had provided him.

'Thank you, sir, I mean, Dumbledore,' he rushed.

'Do not thank me, Mr Black, thank your young friend over there,' Dumbledore said, pointing at Lupin, who was frantically rooting around his pockets, desperate to find enough change to buy himself and Sirius a shot.

'Oi, Lupin!' Sirius called over, Dumbledore soon forgotten in the drunken haze.

'Don't be stupid.'

This distraction also provided Snape a cover as he followed close behind Dumbledore, joining him back to Hogwarts. Not one of the staff noticed, which was why Dumbledore suggested tonight and had given everyone the day off tomorrow to recover from the hangovers they were bound to have.

Lupin swore angrily, trying to bat his friend away but Sirius was having none of it. He motioned for two firewhiskey shots and Rosmerta quickly obliged, placing the glasses filled with the amber liquid in front of them. Lupin had given up his fight to buy the drinks, knowing how stubborn Sirius was, reached out for one, brought it up to his lips and quickly swallowed in, wincing as the liquid burnt the back of his throat. Sirius imitated Lupin's actions almost simultaneously and they both winced from the alcohol at the same time.

'Sirius…..' Lupin called quietly, but Sirius was too caught up in the memories of this place and slung an arm around Lupin's shoulder.

' 'member when we used to come down here, Moony? That passageway behind the one humped Witch.' Lupin opened his mouth to answer, but Sirius did not wait for an answer. 'We used that aging potion so we'd look older and order butterbeers until the place shut. I'm sure Rosmerta knew but she just fancied me, so she served us. And…' This time Lupin interrupted him by knocking his arm off and grasping him.

'Sirius,' he said, firmer and louder this time. 'I have something to tell you.' Sirius turned to face him properly and saw that his lifelong friend looked quite troubled, running a hand through his unkempt hair. He kept opening his mouth to speak and shutting it again.

'Stop tha',' Sirius ordered. 'You look like a fishhhh.' Lupin shot him a serious look, which sobered Sirius up. This seemed important.

'I'm….' Lupin paused, trying to find the words. This time Sirius did not make any jokes and merely stared at his friend. 'I'm gay, Sirius.' The words took a while to travel to Sirius's alcohol soaked brain and he stood there, still just staring. Lupin waited for his reaction, anxiously wringing his hands. The tense silence was broken when two giant hands reached over the space in between them, grabbing two of the beers Rosmerta had put the bar.

'Come on, both of yeh. None of us are gettin' any younger,' Hagrid boomed in typical Hagrid fashion. 'Yeh gonna help us or wa'?' Sirius recovered from his state of shock and took two glasses too, following Hagrid dutifully back to the table and handing them over. He did not turn back to Lupin or even pause at the table, but continued out the door of the pub. Lupin heard the bell above the door ring, and groaned. He was not in the mood to chase after Sirius, not when he was like this, but he gathered up his cloak so not to trip over and ran after Sirius, knowing where he would be headed in Hogsmeade.

The dim lamps of the streets guided him to the small bridge on the outskirts of the village where a small wooden bridge over a stream was situated. He could see a shadowed figure sitting on the bridge, legs dangling over, skimming stones across the water, getting frustrated when they just sank.

'Sirius,' he called over, knowing that Sirius always skimmed stones when he needed to think. 'Sirius.'  
>The figure stood and looked up and the hood of his cloak fell back, giving away Sirius's handsome profile, his blue eyes seeming to glow through the darkness.<p>

'Just stay away from me! Never come near me again!'

'Sirius,' Lupin repeated for the third time, a little sadder than the first two, walking towards his friend. Sirius dropped the stone he was holding and it gave a satisfying splash as it hit the water, causing ripples to grow and grow and grow.

'Why didn't you tell me?' he asked quietly, crossing his arms across his chest, creating a barrier between the two men. The small gap between them seemed like an immeasurable distance. Lupin closed in on the gap, and Sirius uncrossed his arms and hung them by his side instead, which Lupin took as a promising sign and held his arms open for a hug. Instead of stepping into it, Sirius raised his arms, and, palms flat against Lupin's chest, pushed him away. Lupin stumbled over a log and Sirius took this as opportunity to push him again but this time Lupin was ready and grabbed Sirius's hands and pulled him into him. Sirius did not resist and instead buried his head into Lupin's shoulder, sobbing. Lupin offered him comfort in the only way he knew how and did not let go of the embrace until Sirius broke away and wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his cloak.

'Who else knew?' Sirius asked, keeping his voice steady. Lupin looked him the eyes.

'Lily. My parents. A boy I kissed in fifth year,' Sirius winced on the sound of Lily's name. 'James, I assume. Lily would have told him.' Sirius took a deep sigh, as if hurt.

'Why not me?'

'I didn't want you to think any differently of me,' Lupin admitted. 'And at school, you were always such a lady's man; I didn't think you'd understand.' Sirius gave a half laugh that died in his throat.

'I still am,' he said, trying to make a joke. Lupin did not laugh and instead gave him a sort of smile, hoping that he was okay with it.

'It wasn't a secret or anything, Sirius,' he explained. 'It just never really came up.' Sirius shrugged.

'I'm happy for you, mate,' he said. 'That's all that matters. You are happy, right?'

'I'm happy that you're happy,' Lupin replied.

'I'm happy that you're happy that…. I'm stopping this right now,' Sirius and Lupin both gave a small laugh.

'A soppy Sirius, what is the world coming to?'

'A gay Lupin, what is the word coming to?' Both these statements got another laugh from the two of them. 'I miss them, you know.'

'Me too,' Lupin admitted, in the quiet moonlight. 'We have Harry.'

'Yes,' Sirius said decidedly. 'We have Harry.'

The two of them wandered back to the pub, still a tiny bit uncomfortable with each other, but talking themselves back onto common ground, back into familiarity. The firewhiskey had evidently loosened their tongues and being in Hogsmeade meant the memories of Hogwarts came tumbling back. Conversation flowed naturally until they returned to The Three Broomsticks when, upon entering, Minerva coerced them into playing an assortment of drinking games until the early hours of the morning, when Rosmerta had finally had enough and wanted to sleep, and kicked them all out. As they stumbled back to Hogwarts, in various states, Lupin found himself being supported by Hagrid in order to walk in a straight line. They watched as Sirius danced around lamp posts and trees and people, singing The Weird Sisters' greatest hits. Lupin groaned and turned to Hagrid.

'He's like a tornado. Blows through unannounced and unwanted leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.' Hagrid nodded.

'But yeh gotta agree. S'more fun when he's around.' Lupin smiled secretly to himself. That it was.


	7. George and Luna run away

'Watcha doing?' A lilting Irish voice drifted down from right above George. His heart gave a leap and he almost fell out of the tree, he was so surprised. Luckily he regained his balance and looked up. A pair of giant, silver eyes looked down. He was bizarrely reminded of the Great Hall's ceiling when the stars appeared and the clouds swirled but was quickly drawn out of his reverie as a face appeared behind those vast, unblinking eyes. A pretty face. A small, slightly upturned nose, generous bow lips and long blonde hair tucked behind elfin ears.

'Erm…' He felt strange, he was never lost for words. 'Reading.' He didn't have time to make a joke, again most unlike him. A hand reached down and took the book gently from him without him realising. The face came more into focus as he recovered from the shock of someone being on branches above him and he realised the pretty face was one he recognised. It was one of lanky git's friends. Or as he was better known, one of Ron's friends. His mind stumbled through names until his mouth settled on one.

'Loo… Luna,' he managed to correct himself in time. She gave a demure giggle and hung upside down from her branch so their faces were at an equal level. She waved the book in front of him.

'This isn't very good,' she told him, smiling. She looked at him again with those beautifully spooky eyes and it felt like she was looking through him. After a few seconds of silence, him dumbstruck, her staring, she swung back up and climbed delicately down to a branch opposite him. 'What are you actually doing?'

Too surprised to tell her anything but the truth, he spoke.

'Hiding,' he admitted ruefully. 'Fred found out it was me that replaced his shampoo with green hair dye.' She gave another delightful giggle and George felt himself smiling too.

'Good place to hide,' she said. 'You need a better book, though.'

George felt himself enjoying the ups and downs of her accent and wanted her to keep talking.

'Why are you up here?' He had heard stories about Luna, second hand, from his younger brother, sister and other various people. Judging by her behaviour today, they were wholly believable. She was a very strange girl. Intriguingly so. She was probably looking for snarples, or whatever it was that she believed lived in trees.

'Reading,' she said, with an ironic smile on her face. She reached into a large, bright orange bag hung over her shoulder and pulled out a book. George's eyes scanned the title.

'The Portrait of Dorian Gray? Never heard of it.'

'No….' she said, drifting off, as though this was an acceptable reply to what he had said. She opened it, starting on the page with the corner turned down and started reading again as though he just wasn't there. Instead of being outraged at her rudeness, he was amused by it and felt himself watching her.

'What's it about then?' he asked her, after several moments. She looked up, startled, as though she'd forgotten he was there.

'Oh. I'm not sure. But it's very good.' He felt himself laughing without meaning to; she made less sense than a Potions lesson. She looked up at him again and smiled back. 'It makes more sense if you read it upside down, I think.' She put it back in her bag and crossed her legs, sitting like a small elf waiting to be blown away. She looked frustrated at George.

'Well…?' she asked, tapping her fingers on her knee. 'Aren't you going to ask what I'm really doing here?' George rolled his eyes. Women!

'What are you really doing here, Luna?' he asked slowly. A triumphant smile stretched across her lips.

'I'm probably looking for snarples,' she answered, winking at him. 'Or whatever else lives in the tree.' He raised his eyebrows, this was the second time in the space of fifteen minutes she had quite, quite surprised him and taken him out of his comfort zone. How did she know he was thinking that? Then again, people said comments like that to her face, often followed with 'Loony Luna' or simply 'Luna'.

'How ….. interesting,' George commented, wondering the quickest way down out of the tree.

'I wouldn't leave just yet,' Luna advised. 'Your twin is coming.' And sure enough, mere seconds later, Fred was stood under the tree, bellowing George's name.

'I'M GOING TO BLOODY KILL YOU, GEORGE. JUST YOU WAIT.' Luna covered her mouth to prevent laughter from spilling out and George paled. After a few more death threats, Fred left, storming off to some other part of Hogwarts.

'Bugger,' George said. 'Fred can be really imaginative, sometimes.'

'He's probably going to put nargles in your bed,' Luna said knowingly. George gave her a weird look but she didn't seem to notice. 'Anyway, you can't stay up here all day. We've got the whole day off, there are far better ways to spend it.'

With that as her parting shot, she dropped her bag onto the floor, and followed it down, jumping lithely from the branch. George could do nothing but follow her, confused and yet fascinated by her, in the same way he was by mandrakes or the female gender in general. They weaved through the various groups of people, relaxing on the grass, who had taken full advantage of the day off and the unusually warm weather. Katie, Angelica and Alicia were one such group, idly tossing a ball to one another. Katie saw him and stood up and waved, beckoning him over. However, he could also see Fred talking to Angelica and Alicia. At Katie's movement, the mess of lime green seemed to turned and saw George, and started to run. George, in a fit of mad panic and desperation, grabbed Luna's hand, who was picking daises from the grass and decorating her hair with them, and dragged her along, dashing through the crowds and into Hogwarts. Luna glanced back, baffled by George's behaviour, until she saw Fred chasing after them. It was not hard to miss the bright green of his hair. She took the lead, twisting through the corridors of Hogwarts, up and down the many changing stairs, until she was sure that they had lost Fred. George wheezed, doubled over, with his hands on his thighs, trying to regain his breath. Luna merely floated over to beneath a pair of shoes that were hanging from a suit of armour's sword and daintily picked them off, as though they were an apple and the suit was a tree. She stored them in her bag and turned back to George who seemed to be passing in and out of consciousness. She sat him down on a step, very gently pushing his shoulder down, and sat next to him, handing him a bottle of apple juice from that huge bag of hers. After a while, he seemed to have recovered and faced her, taking her hands in his.

'Thank you so much,' he said with as much sincerity as possible. 'I think you just saved my life.'

Luna removed her hands from his, took the bottle back off him, screwed the lid back on and put it back in her bag.

'No,' she said, shaking her head, her long blonde hair waving from side to side. 'Thank you. I found my shoes.'

George laughed heartily and she watched, pleased she had made him happy.

'Yeah, yeah, you did. Everyone's a winner, right?'

'Well, not Fred,' she pointed out. 'Although, I think green quite suited him.' This coming from a girl that thought cabbages suited her as earrings.

'Ah, don't worry about him. He was being a moany git anyway.'

'Maybe he had something to moan about,' Luna said, sagely. George was not expecting that. Then again, she was in Ravenclaw, the wisest of all the houses. And he, Gryffindor, the bravest of all the houses. Except, he was not being particularly brave today. He looked down at the ground, scuffing his feet together, slightly embarrassed with his behaviour.

'Maybe I had better get this over and done with,' George said. 'Rather sooner than later.'

'Unless you're being attacked by a dementor. Then I think later would be infinitely better than sooner.'

George stood up, marvelling at the way Luna's mind must work, and offered her a hand up. She took it and he pulled, slightly too hard, and she ended up falling into him. It was a nice feeling, her pressed up against her chest and her hair just tickling his nose. She was shorter than him, shorter than Katie, but he found himself preferring it. He looked down, expecting to see her blushing or something. Instead, she had her ear to his heart, counting his heartbeat.

'Your heart is beating very fast,' she declared. 'You should drink beetroot with ginger tea. It's a good remedy for that.' George grimaced at the very thought but changed his expression to a smile as she removed her ear and looked up at him. 'I've got some if you want.'

'No, Luna, you're alright,' he said, trying to avoid the concoction. She was still very, very close to him and did not seem to be pulling away. He moved his hand and titled her chin up, faced with those incredible silver eyes again, they were the colour of a dream. She stared, unblinking up at him, quite a reverse from how they had first met. He lent down and felt her breath closer and closer to his lips. Just as he though he'd reached those generous bow lips of hers, she turned her cheek and he got a mouthful of hair instead. Spluttering, he took a step back, bewildered by what she wanted.

'You don't owe me anything, you know,' Luna said. 'Just your life.' She gave him a quick smiled and pointed down the end of the corridor.

'Gryffindor common room is second door on the left if you go that way. Fred should be waiting. Good luck.' She gave him a helpful shove, and George took the first step towards his demise. Or, at least, a very painful beating up.

Luna wandered into the Great Hall for dinner, unsure if she should be there or not. She had been so busy reading her book that she had lost track of time. The sun had started to go down, if she looked out the window of the dorms, and that was often a good sign it was the evening. She sat down, on her own, at the end of the Ravenclaw table. Conversation seemed to flow over her and bypass her completely. She did not mind, however, as she cut up a piece of fish and chewed on it thoughtfully. Conversation did not tend to interest her. She preferred instead to consider the moral implications of Goblin ownership and debate the reality of Astrology. On her own.

'Luna…?' A familiar voice asked. 'Want to have pudding on our table?' Luna rose from the table, no one around her noticing and faced one of her dearest friends.

'That would be delightful, Neville.' She walked, side by side, with the young wizard and sat next to him once he had made people move up to make space for her. She felt happier here than on the Ravenclaw table, she had friends here. Ron was in the middle of some story about Quidditch that seemed to get him, and a few of the boys very excited. Silence fell over the table, though, as footsteps approached. Several wolf whistles echoed around the hall.

'Bloody 'ell!' she heard Ron say and tried to see what all the fuss was about. Oh. To match Fred's delightful green hair, George now sported a purple Mohican. She could not help but giggle. He looked a bit like a flower. She moved to go tell him this but a shadow fell over her. A female figure blocked her view.

'Katie,' she heard George say. 'What do you think?' Judging by Katie's body language, she did not like it one little bit. She reached her arm up and ran a hand through it.

'That had better be gone by morning,' she said, warningly. Luna thought she sounded a bit mean and did not appreciate the true beauty of it. Did she not like flowers?

'Only if he fixes mine,' Fred called over, somewhere behind them.

'Fine, fine!' George said, defeated. 'You guys just don't have a sense of humour.'

After the initial shock had worn off, everyone continued eating in peace, the twins wedged in between Harry and Katie; George directly opposite Luna. He had tried to catch her eye, but she seemed engrossed in the trifle and was poking it and whispering to it softly. He could not catch what she was saying and leaned in to listen closer, but that was met with a sharp poke to the ribs.

'Oi,' he turned to face Katie, who did not look happy. 'Why didn't you come and say hi, earlier? Why did you run off with that girl?'

'Oh,' George said, trying to come up with an excuse. He still thought Katie was gorgeous. 'Trying to escape Fred.'

'Sorry,' he said. 'Hi.' Katie looked placated, and even a little happy. By the end of the meal, she was practically beaming. They all stood to leave and Katie tapped her foot impatiently.

'Well?' she asked. George's attention was somewhat diverted as Luna was explaining some strange concept about time travel to Neville that seemed entertaining.

'Well, what?' Girls really did confuse him sometimes. Why didn't they just say what they meant?

'Are you going to ask me out or not?' George thought he had misheard Katie at first but judging by the way she flung her arms around his neck and snogged him, evidently not. He was too engrossed in the kiss to realise Luna had noticed and was watching sadly. After Katie had detached herself from his lips, George found himself asking.

'Well, what do you think?' Katie replied pointedly. 'Yes, you moron.'


	8. Hermione helps Draco

Hermione's eyes scanned the Slytherin breakfast table. She could see Patsy, flirting outrageously with Blaise, who seemed to wincing and wriggling around on his seat as though his bum was sore. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be playing some sort of game that consisted of them slapping each other's hands until they turned red raw and one of them gave up. Neither of them appeared to be stopping anytime soon. There was no shock of white blonde hair, though. She had wanted to see whether the prank had been successful or not. Clearly, Blaise had fallen for it as had many other members of the Slytherin House who had waddled into breakfast, wincing, but it had been meant for Draco.

Her thoughts were drawn back to Earth as Ron poked her.

''Mione, yuh gon' eat dat?' he asked, mumbling through a mouth of half eaten food. Ron's antics at meal times had failed to surprise her anymore. She glanced down at the bacon sandwich on her plate and pushed it towards him.

'No, you can have it. I'm not hungry.'

Breakfast was a lazy affair, as everyone had the day off. Harry had suggested exploring Hogwarts, Ron wanted to play this new, exciting, muggle game, 'Football', he'd heard about from Dean that he insisted on calling 'Footsball'. His logic was you used two feet for it. Hermione sighed. It was O.W.L year, and they wanted to muck around. After a quick game of troll, goblin, wizard – which Hermione had realised seemed to resemble what she knew rock, paper, scissor to be, it was decided that football was the plan.

'You boys have fun,' Hermione said as they all stood up to leave. None of them heard her, Ron too busy learning about the offside rule – a concept he found impossible. She trailed slowly behind them, finding it hard to get excited at the idea of sport, when she could be in the library or in her room studying. Maybe she could kill two birds with one stone, and take her textbooks outside with her. That way, she could still enjoy the sunshine and the company of her friends, but still be learning. Happy that she had come to a reasonable compromise, she hastened her pace, following the small group that had managed to accumulate due to Ron's enthusiasm and the chance to try something new, who were headed towards the Gryffindor tower to get Dean's football. As Hermione got to the last few steps of the stairs, the others just ahead, the stairway decided to move. She tutted, irritated. She hated when Hogwarts decided to do this, especially when it made her late for lessons. She did not want to be the reason that points got taken off Gryffindor. She left that down to the Weasley twins. And Harry and Ron, to some extent, who always managed to find themselves in trouble. She glanced behind her, to see if anyone else was on the stairs with her.

'Bother,' she said, out loud. She was completely alone. She only hoped the stairs transported her to part of the tower she recognised. The stairway stopped and led her to a small, dark corridor.

'Bother,' she said again, taking a step out into the corridor, completely lost. She took a step back onto the stairway, hoping that it would move again, but it was firmly in place. There was no option but to continue forward. She did not want to waste time waiting for the stubborn stairway to choose to move again, when she could be studying. She produced her wand from her cloak pocket and quickly muttered 'lumos' to provide herself with light. The walls of the corridor were bare, not a single picture, suit of armour or even a door to a classroom. Hermione puzzled over it but just supposed it was one of Hogwart's many secrets.

Step by tentative step, she made her way down the corridor, wishing for some indication of where she was. Halfway down, she heard a scream. She swore, most unlike her, out of complete fright, dropped her wand and ran back down the corridor, not stopping for anything. The stairway now had completely disappeared, now, and there was no sign of anybody. She slowly made her way back, knowing that whatever happened, she needed her wand. Her heart thudding against her ribcage, she crept softly down the corridor, not wanting to alert anyone – or anything – to her presence. She reached the point where she'd dropped her wand. The scream had rescinded into sobbing; wild, desperate sobbing. Whoever it was, their pain was echoing around the corridor.

Hermione's maternal instincts got the better of her, as did her curious nature, and she cursed them both as she brandished her wand, tried to remember as many defensive spells as possible, and continued her path down the corridor. Eventually, the corridor came to an end and there was only way to turn. Hermione glanced around the corner, seeing a figure on the floor, clutching their knees, their whole body wracking itself with tears. She took a bold step forward as the figure emitted another scream that seemed almost inhuman in its anguish. Instead of running this time, she clutched her wand tighter, so her hand turned almost white, and held it out.

She could not but help emit a small gasp as she recognised the profile of the face.

'Draco?'

The figure quickly stopped screaming but kept making whimperings of agony. He made an attempt to get up, hands splayed on the floor trying to push up, but just ended up on the floor, in the foetal position, crying out for help. Hermione rushed over, without thinking twice and sat down next to the body lying prostrate on the floor, unable to move for fear of the hurt. She ran her wand over him, seeing the entirety of his injuries. He was half clothed. His cloak had huge claw marks right across the torso that had ripped through his shirt as well and left scars on his chest. There was not much left of his trousers either, there were burn marks all over them. Hermione felt herself shaking at the very sight of so much torture. She murmered the few healing spells she knew and they seemed to abate the screaming for a few moments, and allowed her time to study him in peace.

He flinched as she moved his hair out of his eyes; his poor, swollen eyes. It became very clear that he could not see properly out of them, it was as though someone had cursed them. There were bruises and grazes all over his body, not one part of him had been left unbeaten.

'Draco,' she said, hoping to get his attention. He merely moaned in response. 'Draco, I'm going to have to move you.'

With a great feat of strength that Hermione was marvelled that he had, he grasped onto her arms tightly and started murmuring, feverishly. She lent her head closer to his mouth to make out what he was saying.

'Don't move me, I don't want to leave, I don't want anyone to find me, I want to stay lost forever. I have to move them and I can't and I don't know how and I don't want to and it hurts, Merlin, how it hurts. Make it stop hurting, make them go away, NO DON'T HURT ME. FATHER HELP! Why doesn't he love me? Why doesn't anyone love me? Please, help.'

And with that, his head fell backwards. Hermione shook him, panicking, worried he was dead, but it became clear he was still breathing. The pain had just caused him to pass out. She gave a sigh of relief. He couldn't feel anything if he was unconscious and it made him a lot easier to move.

'Mobilicorpus,' she recited, remembering that Sirius had used it on an unconscious Snape. How long ago that all seemed. In the Shrieking Shack with a werewolf, a wanted murderer, a traitor and a crazy Professor yet the situation she was in seemed infinitely more terrifying. She carried Draco with her wand, the corridor seemed to head ever downwards. Candles had now appeared in chandeliers along the walls, which she was thankful for. Finally, she came to a door and praying that it did not led to a crowded room, she pushed it open. She could do little else. It seemed to lead to a large bedroom, with an equally large bathroom just leading off. It was just what she required.

She set Draco down on the bed and explored the room. In the bathroom there was a cabinet full of various potions, poultices and creams. On top of the cabinet was a book describing them all and their uses. In the bedroom, there was a table with a variety of textbooks from the subjects she was studying and reams of scroll as well. There was a wardrobe with a spare set of robes and another cabinet that was well stocked with various foods and a small gas cooker. Hermione had no idea who had put this stuff here or why they had bothered to put this stuff here, but there were not words to express her gratitude.

She studied the book intensively whilst Draco lay there, taking the potions, poultices and creams she deemed most useful and lay them out on the desk. Just as she was grabbing one of the last ones, one to heal up the scars, she heard a groan. She glanced over at the bed to see Draco trying to sit up. He still could not see and was patting around him to work out where he was. She could tell by the expression on his face that he did not expect to be in a soft warm surprise did not last long as it quickly turned to pain again and he started to weep. Hermione felt her heart wrench. No wonder he treated everyone like he did, if this is how people treated him.

She helped him slowly out of the bed, careful of all his injuries and took him to the warm bath she had run for him. Simple common sense told her that he needed to be warm and clean before she could start applying any cures. She placed him in the bath, full clothed, turned around and muttered a quick spell that would remove all of his clothes apart from his underwear without her needing to do it for him. She would save him at least that dignity. She handed him two aspirin and a glass of water, hoping that it would cause his cries of hurt to stop. She had almost grown used to them due to the incessantness of them. But who was she to complain? She could only hear the pain, he could feel it. Even though he could not see, he tilted his face towards her, aware of her movement.

'Mother?' he asked. 'Mother, is that you? Have you come to stop them? Have you made them go?' Hermione had no idea how to react and just kept silent. 'Mother, have you left me? What do you always leave me? MOTHER!'

She did not want to offer Draco a lie, he had clearly gone through too much already, so instead she just kept silent, preparing what needed to be done to his body. After she was sure that he was clean, she emptied the bath of its water, the situation they were in gone far past embarrassment. She gently towel dried him, and he seemed to cherish her gentle touch, as though it was something he was not used to. Doing this, she could see the full extent of his injuries and wanted to weep herself. How could someone do this to another human being? Even one as horrible as Draco. She applied the various poultices and creams to the scars, bruises and grazes, and forced various potions down his throat that would deal with any internal injuries and general pain. Once she was sure that she could do all she could for him, she returned him to the bed, making sure he was comfortable. His weeping had subsided to murmurs, and his face was far more peaceful than it had been. As she tucked him in, he gave her a small smile and her heart broke it two.

'Thank you, Mother,' he said, before turning over and wrapping the duvet around him.

It was only once Hermione was sure he was asleep, did she allow herself to weep. Hours passed and Hermione felt comfortable enough to leave him. She had made him drink a sleeping potion, and she was sure that it had worked. It meant he was out for at least another 6 hours. She opened the door ever so quietly, so not to disturb him, and slid silently out. Not wanting to stray too far from Draco, her eyes roamed for the nearest portrait. Just left of her was a portrait of an old gentleman, who appeared to reading a book. He seemed far more suitable than the group of young knights in a picture opposite her, prancing around with swords. She stood in front of him and addressed him in a whisper, so not to draw attention to herself.

'Excuse me, sir,' she said timidly. He placed the book down and stared kindly at her over his glasses. 'Yes, my good lady.' 'I was wondering if you could help me.' Hermione was determined to get her request over and done with, so she sped through it quickly.

'There is a boy in there who has been tortured and is in a lot of pain. I have done my best to heal him but I fear it is not enough.'

'I see,' the gentleman said, eyes widening. 'What would you like me to do?'

Hermione had considered this and realised the best course of action.

'Could you go to Dumbledore's office and tell him that Draco Malfoy is in trouble? And could you also tell him where we are, as I am not entirely sure?'

The gentleman nodded gravely, took off his hat and bowed to Hermione.

'Speed is of the essence, my dear,' he said, and hurried off, passing through pictures as quickly as he could. Hermione felt herself breathe a great sigh of relief, as though a huge burden had been lifted off her shoulders and slid back into the room. Draco was still fast asleep, under the mountains of duvet. She felt herself dozing off, until she heard the door swing open.

'Miss Granger,' she heard a familiar voice say. 'You are not only one of the smartest witches of our time, but one of the bravest too.'

'Yes….' she heard an equally familiar but less friendly voice. She rubbed her eyes, trying to rouse herself. Dumbledore and Snape waited patiently for her to greet them.

'Professors, I ju…I just do….' she broke down, tears streaming down her face. Dumbledore stepped towards her and just held her, until the horror of what had happened finally left her. Snape, on the other hand, rushed over to Draco.

'You have done extremely well,' Dumbledore said, comfortingly. 'I am not sure anyone could have done any better. In fact, I am not sure anyone could have done anywhere near as well.'

Hermione felt herself give a small smile at the praise.

'But you must promise me to never tell anyone about this. It is of the gravest importance.'

Hermione looked up at her Headteacher, bewildered by his request. He looked down at her from his half moon glasses, imploringly, the sparkling blue eyes almost pleading with her.

'Of course,' she promised. 'I won't tell a soul.'

Their moment was quickly broken as there was movement from the other side of the room. Snape was no longer bent over Draco. Draco was no longer in the bed. Instead he was standing up, staring straight at Hermione with an anger that seemed to have no depth. He rushed past everyone, aiming straight for the door.

'Draco,' Snape said warningly.

'We can help you,' Dumbledore said. 'Just like Hermione did today.'

Draco looked lost for a second but quickly regained the expression of hatred that often settled on his face, and his eyes flickered over Hermione with distaste and disgust.

'I will hurt you if you ever talk to me again!' and with that he stormed out.

Hermione felt confused and upset, but felt a warmth presence next to her. Dumbledore spoke again. '

You cured his wounds today, Hermione, and for that I am prouder than you could ever imagine. But soon comes the day when you will need to cure more than the wounds on his body.'


	9. Remus and Sirius fall out

_Hey, I'm not sure if anyone is enjoying this fiction so a few more reviews would be lovely. Any corrections/complaints/nice things to say about it would also be great. Erm, yeah, here you go._

'Eurrgh,'

Lupin groaned; it was his day off and he was far too hungover to be awake this early.

'Eurgh,' the lump next to him made the same noise again and Lupin, slightly more conscious than he was the first time around, reacted. If you could call pushing the lump out of his bed a reaction.

'Oh, bloody hell!' Lupin exclaimed at the sight of Sirius sprawled on his floor. Sirius stared, bleary eyed up at Lupin, trying to work out how he had fallen. With alcohol still coursing through his veins, he did not spend too long contemplating it and instead pulled one side of the duvet that it would appear he and Lupin had been sharing all night.

I wan' go back sleep,' he shared by way of explanation, yanked the entire duvet off Lupin and curled into a ball, falling promptly back to sleep.

Lupin looked down and breathed a sigh of relief. Well, at least both he and Sirius had managed to keep their clothes on. He was still wearing his underwear, a shirt and a single sock. Merlin only knew where the other one was.

As he stood, wobbling slightly in a half hearted attempt to find the rest of his clothes and at least make it down for the remains of breakfast, he noticed another lump laid across the large, sunken sofa he had in his bedroom. A lump that size could only be Hagrid. That or they'd make friends with a troll last night which, knowing Sirius, was not entirely unlikely. As the lump rumbled, shaken by a magnificent snore, the coat that was being used as a blanket slithered to the floor. The beard was instantly recognisable as Hagrid's, the tattoos that seemed to adorn the groundskeeper's body were not. A variety of mythical creatures and swearwords decorated Hagrid's arms and face. Lupin slapped his forehead in disbelief, he had forgotten him and Sirius had attacked Hagrid with black marker pen when he passed out.

'Hagrid,' he tried to shake the man awake. 'Hagrid.' His attempts did not seem to have any effect on the sleeping mountain.

'HAGRID!'

'Wurgh?' Hagrid immediately sat up, as though he had been stung by a skrewt. He stared at Lupin, who was standing over him, hands on hips. 'Yer, alrigh'. I'm goin', I'm goin' ' He raised a huge hand to his mouth as he yawned and blinked a few times, trying to rouse himself. He planted each foot firmly down on the ground and pushed himself off the sofa, not entirely with ease. It took a few deep breaths for Hagrid to fully regain his balance.

'See yeh later, Lupin,' Hagrid bid Lupin farewell as he left his bedroom. Lupin merely grunted back, having found another sock and was bent over, trying to reach for it under the sofa. Merlin knows how it got there. Having finally grasped it with the very tips of his fingers, he let out a triumphant cheer. Evidently it was louder than he thought as it managed to wake Sirius up properly.

Lupin afforded his friend a small smile as he dumped the small pile of clothes he had managed to collect around the room that had obviously belonged to Sirius. The clothes were far too expensive and clean to be Lupin's.

'Good morning,' Lupin wished him, the smile lingering across his lips. 'And how are we this morning?'

Sirius shook his head and stopped abruptly, realising that the movement made him feel as though there were thousands of tiny men with tiny drums marching across his head.

'Ugh,' he answered. 'I feel ugh.'

'You never learn, do you?' Lupin said affectionately. 'We might still be able to make it down for breakfast. Bacon's the best cure for a hangover.'

Sirius glanced up at his old friend, who was stood over him. The memories of last night came tumbling back and he felt unwanted emotions bubbling through him. He snatched the pile of clothes from Lupin and escaped into the bathroom, away from Lupin's caring eyes. He was glad to see that both of them were still mostly dressed so nothing had gone down last night. He felt petty assuming that just because Lupin was gay, it must stand to reason that he fancied him, but they had slept in the same bed last night. Sirius felt dirty and the sudden need to shower.

'Padfoot?' Lupin's gentle voice came drifting through the door, with a slightly tint of confusion. 'You okay in there?'

Sirius pulled up his trousers and quickly zipped them up.

'Yeah, fine,' he replied, a little quicker, a little harsher than he meant. Or perhaps he did mean for it to be that abrupt, trying to shut Lupin out. He opened the bathroom door back into Lupin's tidy, organised bedroom. Lupin was sat on his bed, putting on a clean pair of matching socks, that had a single hole in the left toe. Sirius was used to this sight, one that had happened so many times before when they had shared Gryffindor dormitory. Never have he felt so uncomfortable about it, though.

"You ready to go down?" Lupin asked, standing up and slipping into a pair of shoes. Sirius shook his head.

'Maybe it would be better if we didn't go down at the same time,' Sirius said. 'People might get the wrong idea.'

'The wrong idea?' Lupin murmured, hurt leaking through his voice. 'Hagrid was here too, Sirius.'

Sirius shrugged, trying to remain nonchalant.

'But you didn't share a bed with Hagrid,' he said, the words coming out sharply.

'Sirius, we have shared a bed after a drunken night out on multiple occasions,' Lupin stared at his old friend. 'What made last night any different?'

'Because last night you were gay!' Sirius clapped a hand over his mouth, as though he was trying to prevent the words from escaping, but it was too late. The damage had been done. Pain flickered across Lupin's face and he hung his head down, not able to meet Sirius's eyes.

'Oh,' he said, quietly, making Sirius feel small. But he couldn't help it, that was the reason. He had tried to accept Lupin's coming out last night but it had changed everything.

'Maybe we should just, y'know, leave it?" Sirius suggested.

'Leave what? 20 years of friendship, Sirius?' Lupin's voice was still quiet but the anger in it was loud.

'It's not that easy,' Sirius said, annoyed with the way Lupin had put it so simply and made him feel like an idiot.

'It never is,' Lupin said, turning away, not wanting to watch Sirius leave. Sirius opened the door and walked out into the corridor 'With you, it never is.'

Lupin never made it down to breakfast. He could not face the shame of his best friend not accepting who he was. Instead, he sat in his room, alternating between angry and upset, taking his emotions out on a pillow that now lay in pieces on the floor. Eventually, he dragged himself up, swept the strewn feathers and rags of pillow case and deposited them in the bin.

He glanced at his diary, wondering if anything needed doing before lessons started again and noticed a small 'M' surrounded by a circle in silver ink. He swore quietly under his breath. The beginning of term had taken over his mind and he had completely forgotten that the full moon was that night. Snape had mentioned, in passing one dinner, that he had already made a cauldron of the potion that Lupin needed. He would need it tonight.

He made his way down to the dungeons, knowing that it was the most likely place to find Snape during their day off. The castle almost seemed deserted, everyone taking full advantage of the unnaturally warm weather. Lupin knocked on the door of Snape's office but there was no answer. He tentatively pushed the door and breathed a sigh of relief as it swung open into the gloomy room. Snape had said that he was welcome to collect the potion at any time, which was stored in the cupboard behind his desk.

Lupin stepped into the room and called out, but no one answered. The key for the cupboard lay on Snape's desk. Surely Snape wouldn't mind, they were both adults now, both teachers at the school they went. And Snape would understand. Hopefully. He grabbed the key from the desk and slotted it into the keyhole of the cupboard. It gave a soft click as it opened to shelves and shelves of ingredients, tools and potions. Lupin didn't even recognise all of them. He put the key back where it came from and slipped inside the cupboard. His eyes roamed the shelves, trying to find the deep purple potion he had to drink every month. His search stopped suddenly as he heard approaching footsteps, the office door open and raised voices.

'What were you thinking?' Lupin recognised Snape's angry tone. 'He will not be pleased.'

'You don't have a clue,' a second voice entered the conversation. It was weak yet the scorn in it was unmistakable. 'That's why he's asked me to do it and not you.' Lupin moved softly, not wanting to alert them to his presence. Who on earth was he? And who was the other person? The voice sounded young, male and arrogant. Lupin peeked through a small slit between the cupboard door and the wall and could see a student with white blonde hair and a sneer. Malfoy. What was happening?

'No,' Snape hissed. 'He has asked you to do it because I am doing far more important things.'

Malfoy laughed. Lupin could not believe Snape was allowing a student to treat him like this. Normally, Snape demanded respect from everybody.

'You don't know, do you?' There was a pause in conversation and only the soft click of heels across the stone floor could be heard. Lupin could see Snape stood very closely to Malfoy, breathing heavily.

'I know more than you can ever imagine, boy. I know what is living in the Shrieking Shack.'

Malfoy laughed again.

'You forget, sir,' he said, with as much disdain as he could possibly muster. 'That I am just as accomplished at legilimency, if not more so, than you. My father has been teaching me before I could even speak. You're lying.'

'Draco, look at yourself,' Snape said softly, changing the tone completely. 'There is not one part of you that isn't hurt. This is not a task for you; this is a punishment for your parents for failing him.'

'I am fine,' Malfoy said, loudly, trying to prove to himself as much as Snape. 'I thi..'

'Yes, due to Hermione Granger,' Snape interrupted him. 'Did you thank her?'

'Pft,' Malfoy shrugged. 'Thank a mudblood? Not likely.'

Lupin could see Snape's fists clench, which he was surprised at. Snape had used the word before.

'Just be careful, boy,' Snape said quietly. 'And know that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.' Lupin could hear Draco give a sigh of disbelief.

'Can I go, now?' he asked, with a tone of boredom running strong in his voice.

'Yes, Draco, you are permitted to leave but do not forget what has happened today,' Snape said, with a gentle sadness in his voice. This is not the Snape Lupin was used to. What the hell was happening?

The dungeon door swung open and then shut as Malfoy exited. Lupin prayed to every God and minor deity he knew that Snape did not need anything from the cupboard. He heard rattling around and willed every bone and muscle in his body to remain still. After what seemed to be an eternity, the dungeon door moved again and footsteps receded out of the office. Lupin exhaled, not realising that he had stopped breathing too.

He was in such a rush to leave the room before he was found eavesdropping that he almost forgot what he had come for, until a large flask caught his attention as it flashed purple in the light from the office. He reached up and slid it into his robe pockets. That was a large enough supply for the next few days, as he changed under the influence of the full moon. That was not what he was thinking about and as he made his way back to his own office, he tried to make sense of what had just happened.

Sirius might be able to help, he normally did. Lupin's train of thought was suddenly broken. Sirius would not help him, Sirius was no longer talking to him.


End file.
